This updated edition has an expanded 'Concepts' and 'Grammar Files' sections, and a greatly expanded 'Debugging Your Parser' section. There is also a new FAQ section added to the appendix. Some obsolete material was removed as well.

Bison is a general-purpose parser generator that can help the C programmer develop a wide range of language parsers, from those used in simple desktop calculators to complex programming languages.

The Bison manual provides a quick overview of the theory behind context-free grammars and semantic values. It has both an introductory tutorial section with examples and a reference section which explores parts of Bison in detail. This book teaches you:

Basic concepts of context-free grammars

Basic concepts of semantic values and actions

Bison grammar rules and syntax

Stages in writing and running Bison grammars

C-Language interface to the parser function yyparse()

How to parse more than one language in the same program

How to detect when an operation for a new node type was not implemented

How to ensure that a new operation covers all existing node types adequately